Harry Potter and the Memories of a Guardian
by Pwn Master Paladin
Summary: A Patronus is a guardian spirit. Something the caster sees as being able to protect them. So what in Harry's all too brief time with his parents caused him to see Prongs as a guardian? This is the story of that event...


**A/N: Hey guys, long time no see! I have just gotten off my suspension from FFn, apparently they take exception to certain song lyrics and accidentally giving an improper rating. Anyway, this is just a quick little one-shot I thought up, and the final chapters of Time Turned Back, the rest of Fire Strike 2, along with a few new chapters of all my other in progress stories will be up soon.**

**This story was inspired by a few different things. One: Remus' line in POA about the Patronus taking the shape of something that makes you feel safe, and/or protected. I know thats not the EXACT wording, but I don't have the book with me to double check. Two: What, in Harry's young life, made him see Prongs in his stag form as a protector? And finally: A discussion started by Bob over at, now defunct, FFA Forums.**

**This is a departure for me, as I try in my more serious pieces to keep it mostly in Harry's POV. This time, it is almost entirely from James Potter's. I don't have the books to check anything out, so if something is non-canon, tell me and I will do my best to correct it. Now, sit back and enjoy readers, because Pwn Master Paladin has returned, and I bring chaos with me!**

**Peace and Out,**

**Pwn Master Paladin**

Harry Potter and the Memories of a Guardian

By: Pwn Master Paladin

"James Potter, you had better take care of our son!" Lily was always a spit-fire. He found himself being mesmerized by her beauty as she berated him. That was one of the reason he had married her after all. "JAMES POTTER ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Yes Lily. I promise, nothing will happen to Harry. I can take care of him for a while. Go on, see how Frank and Alice are doing, and send them my thoughts, okay? If all else fails, I can call Sirius over and he can give Harry a ride as Padfoot. You know he loves that."

Lily sighed as she stepped close to him. She wrapped her arms around him slowly, squeezing tightly. "Just promise to be careful James. With Voldemort out there..."

"I know, Lils, I know."

**HPHPHPHPHP**

James jerked awake from his light doze. He heard a noise from upstairs, and quickly grabbed his wand to go investigate. When he reached the room the noise was coming from, he stopped and stared, unable to believe what he saw. His son was lying there with his eyes open, quietly playing with toys. This alone was surprising, as Harry had been asleep, and normally was very fussy when he woke up, but the true surprise was the toys.

Lily had insisted in having Muggle toys as well as magical, and James had agreed, although he didn't understand what the appeal of some of them were. Who wanted a set of blocks that you couldn't stick together anyway you wanted and they wouldn't fall? He had agreed though, and Harry seemed to have fun knocking down his creations more than building them. What had caught James by surprise, however, was not what Harry was playing with, but _how_.

Harry was looking up at his blocks, _as they flew through the air_!

He was laughing and clapping his hands as the blocks made themselves into shapes, first something that looked like a lion, then a flower, then a distinctly dog shaped one, followed by more and more. James smiled to himself, inwardly leaping for joy! His boy was magical, and seemed powerful to boot!

"That looks like fun Harry." James spoke softly, but it still startled Harry. his concentration broken, the blocks feel to the ground, the noise surprising and upsetting Harry. As his lip started to quiver, James stepped forward and scooped his son up, stopping him from crying before he had even began. "Easy there kid. How about you and me go outside, walk around the garden and woods a little?"

James and Harry took a long walk around the grounds outside the cottage in Godric's Hollow. James always loved this place as a kid. Hogwarts was fun, but nothing beat his home. The woods were an adventure he had always enjoyed, sneaking out from his parents...

James had to choke back a sob as he remembered his mother and father. They had been casualties in the war, killed by an unknown Death Eater. James still missed them, and it was his greatest fear that one day he might lose the rest of his family. Lily, Harry, Remus, Sirius, Peter...he had had nightmares of them all, some killed by Death Eaters, others driven insane by the Cruciatus, once he had dreamt of Moony being speared by a silver arrow. He had promised himself to do his best to protect them all, it hurt to much when he lost his parents to ever want to lose anyone again. He knew it was a fool's hope, his world was in the middle of a war, and his family was right in the middle of it. Everyone was out on a different mission tonight, except for the Potters and Longbottoms. He looked up at the slowly darkening sky, and then down at his son. "Come on Harry, let's head inside."

**HPHPHPHPHP**

"Did everything go okay today James?"

"Just fine Lily. You missed a big moment though. Harry had his first burst of accidental magic!" He smiled as his wife gasped in surprise. "I went up stairs when I heard a noise, and there he was, playing with those Muggle blocks you have, only he had them flying through the air, making different shapes! After that we went outside for a walk around the grounds, and then he ate and went back to sleep. He's down the hall in our room right now."

Lily sighed in regret, sitting down next to James on the couch. "I wished I could have seen it."

"You still can you know. I asked the headmaster to borrow his Pensieve so you can see it just like I did. He sent it over a little while ago."

Lily grabber James on both sides of his head before bringing him close for a quick kiss. "Thanks you James! Let me go check on Harry, and then we can watch it together."

"Okay." James placed a kiss on her cheek as she got up, then moved his wand to his temple, slowly extracting the memory so he and his wife could view it together. Just as he finished, James heard a shriek from the bedroom. He ran as fast as he could, his long legs covering the distance swiftly. He came to a stop and found Lily staring at something outside the window...

The _open_ window...

He looked over at the bed, somehow already expecting what he would see. Harry was gone.

**HPHPHPHPHP**

James and Lily were scouting the woods, looking for their son. Lily had seen Harry crawling outside, after apparently having levitated himself out the window. Just as he had entered the woods James had come in, and the two had immediately gone out to find him. Lily was constantly checking a small compass the Albus had given them as a gift earlier in the year, a constant tracking charm telling them which way Harry was from their position. They followed it carefully, and then came upon a sight they had hoped not to see. Harry was in a little clearing, surrounded by a few animals. They weren't making any moves towards him, staring at him in an curious way, as if not sure what to make of the small human child that had come into their area.

Lily spoke softly, afraid any loud noises might make the creatures attack Harry. "James, are those..."

"Polecats." James was afraid now, more than he had been. Polecats were one of the most annoying animals in the woods in the Hollow, and for good reason. The Polecat was carnivourous, and ate anything that was smaller than itself, but that was not the true problem. Polecats were a problem, because they were one of the few animals in the world that didn't just kill for food. they killed for the fun of it. A single Polecat could decimate a farmers livestock, and then escape without even taking what it killed. It was the serial killer of the animal world.

"Can we get him out without those things hurting him?"

"I don't know. My levitation spell is too slow, we can't summon him, and if we try to kill those the polecats they might move out of the way, leaving Harry to be hit. Even a stunner might be to much for a child as small as he is. I could try..."

Suddenly, it became a moot point. Three of the polecats rushed into attack, and James ran into action. Lily cast what spells she could, taking many of the creatures out before they could move, but the three that had attacked were closer to Harry. James had one last chance, and as the first polecat scratched at Harry's leg, causing his son to cry out in pain, he took it.

In one leap, James had transformed into Prongs. He rushed into the clearing on all four legs, horns down. He quickly knocked one of the remaining three away, before starting to move towards the two that were near Harry. Luckily, like many that kill for fun, the polecat ran off when confronted by something stronger. James circled his son once, before he transformed again and stood next to his son, once again a man. He cast a few basic healing charms, stopping the bleeding and sealing the cut on his leg, before picking him up and softly rocking him back and forth.

Harry continued to cry, but as James whispered words of comfort and love he slowly stopped, before looking up at James with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get there faster Harry. But I promise, I will always watch out for you. Prongs wont let his son get hurt. I love you Harry, and I will always look out for you." The words seemed to reassure Harry, because he cuddled up to his fathers chest and slowly went back to sleep. Lily stepped close to him, and the two hugged softly, afraid of waking Harry up from his slumber, before slowly making their way to the cottage.

"I promise never to say another joke about your form ever again James. You saved our sons life tonight."

James smiled slightly, before a smile frown crossed his face. "I don't know why I said that. It's not like he will remember it."

Lily took his hand, smiling in that soft gentle way he loved. "You never know James, you never know."

**HPHPHPHPHP**

Years later, long after James "Prongs" Potter had died, killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort, his son Harry stood, facing over a hundred dementors as they were about to give his godfather and his younger self the Dementor's Kiss.

In that moment, he knew what he had to do, and some part of him recalled those words of his father. With confidence and an innate knowledge that his plan would work, he stepped out of the bushes.

_"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_


End file.
